The chicest places to go shopping in Almaty

Address: Gagarina 93 a, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Website: instagram.com/forma.ceramicstudio

Dunie Studio

Dunie Studio, an all-women multidisciplinary design collective, has its fingers in many of Almaty’s smartest pies. The team master-minded the creative direction of clothing line Erke Moms, developed products for yurt-inspired homeware brand Yourta and designed packaging for TruNomad, a Kazakh natural skincare label. With the recent opening of Spazio Dunie next to its office in a Soviet mansion on Tchaikovsky Street, the group now has a creative outlet to call its own. The collection of limited-edition ceramics, shirts, and textiles draws on the studio’s in-depth knowledge of Central Asian traditions and crafts – standouts include soaped-wool tekemet rugs covered in scribbly figures, hand-painted kese teacups, and louche overshirts with colour-blocked patterns that nod to traditional quraq körpe quilts.

Address: Tchaikovsky St 208, Almaty 050000, Kazakhstan
Website: dunie.studio

VW HomeChris Schalkx

VW Home

Founded by Alyona and Alexey Lezhanina in 2021, VW Home feels cosy from the get-go. A carpenter by trade, Alexey uses the snug, light-filled space as a shoppable showroom for the wooden cutting boards and bowls he makes from felled local karagach elms. Alyona draws on her talents as a textiles designer to create waffle-patterned towels, dishcloths and candles made from natural materials, and to source products such as woven baskets by local homeware brand Uige.

Website: instagram.com

BBSRChris Schalkx

BBSR

A short drive away from VW Home is the atelier of husband-and-wife duo Altynay Murzabekov and Dias Murzabekov. The pair work with Kazakh illustrators on an ever-changing collection of silk scarves and twillies for their accessories label BBSR (a nod to their daughter’s name, Bibisarra). The kaleidoscopic designs in colourful, playful prints riff on Central Asian folk tales.

Website: instagram.com/bbsr.store

Tartpa

Taking its name from the Kazakh word for “drawer”, the living room-like Tartpa sells postcards, notebooks, shirts and printed posters made by a crew of local creatives. Founded by designer Aizhan Baitimbetova and children’s author Symbat Omarkulova as a way to connect Almaty artists with an audience, the shop stocks a wide collection of quirky prints by makers such as illustrator Aziza Kireyeva and collage artist Perizat Suleiman. Subjects range from tongue-in-cheek Kazakh wordplays to colourful renditions of local landmarks such as the Green Bazaar or Television Tower, and the store’s collaborative ethos means that artists receive royalties for every purchase.

Address: Baiseitova St 45, Almaty 050000, Kazakhstan
Website: tartpa.kz